Infosys arm in pact to build metro rail station in Bengaluru

Bengaluru: IT major Infosys’ philanthropic arm (Infosys Foundation) on Thursday signed an agreement to build and maintain a metro rail station in the Electronics City on Bengaluru’s southern outskirts, said an official on Thursday.

“The station will be built in the second phase of the metro network’s expansion across the city and maintained by the Foundation for 30 years after commissioning,” the official told IANS here.

Karnataka Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy on July 7 said the Foundation had offered Rs 200 crore for building the Konappana Agrahara metro station, metro track and maintain it.

Spread over 2 lakh square feet, the station will provide 3,000 square feet to the Foundation for allowing local craftsmen and artisans to showcase their talent and host exhibitions free.

The Foundation signed an agreement with the state-run Bengaluru Metro Rail Corporation Ltd (BMRCL) for jointly building the station in the presence of Kumaraswamy and state Deputy Chief Minister G. Parameshwara.

“We are happy to support the metro corporation’s expansion plan in Konappana Agrahara for building a new metro station,” said Foundation chairperson Sudha Murthy, wife of Infosys co-founder N.R. Narayana Murthy.

To become operational by 2021, the hi-tech station will have solar panels on its roof to generate power for lighting and other purposes.

“The metro line to the Electronics City will benefit thousands of techies who commute daily to and from the city. Once operational, the metro service will ease the chaotic traffic situation in the city and encourage the commuters to switch over to public transport,” said Sudha.

The decade-old metro operator ferries 4 lakh commuters daily on its metro network corridor from north to south and east to west. The ridership will soon double the capacity of coaches to six.

“The metro station is essential as Electronics City is evolving into a new central business district, with lakhs of techies and others commuting daily to work. A fast and punctual metro service will ease traffic woes on roads, flyovers and National Highway 7 to Chennai,” said BMRCL Managing Director Ajay Seth.

The metro service, which opened to the public in 2011, comprises two lines in its phase one — green and purple — covering only 43 km of the 800 km city with ever-expanding suburbs.

The state has proposed an extension of the lines under phase two, expected to be built by March 2023.

Set up in 1996, the Infosys Foundation supports various programmes in the fields of healthcare, education, rural development among others.